Editor's Viewpoint: Can you manage your management job?

In a divided, partisan world, it is increasingly difficult to do the jobs we were hired, or elected, to do.

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Most days I can, but once in a while, I'm not so sure. I reach that point when I feel trapped between what needs to be accomplished and the limits of my time, patience and people to help out. It's the uncertainty that throws me out of kilter. That's when I open up my cool pressure valve and think about the unflappable Cary Grant, who treated every situation and person he encountered with style and grace.

But, in a world that is flapping all around us every day, it is increasingly difficult to accomplish the jobs we are hired to do. First and foremost, though, I try not to become the people I don't like. You know, people angry with the world who often cluster in groups of like minds and hold rigid opinions often based on one fear or another.

We all understand why people today are mad or afraid. After battling through three wars and two recessions over the past decade, they have a right to be angry. But, I ask myself, "Does their anger produce anything good? Are they the people you want on juries? Would I want them to influence my decisions?"

Progress isn't made by taking sides; it's about balance. In the functioning world, people don't live on the extremes, nor do they necessarily live in the middle. Most people move through their lives and jobs dealing with the world that comes at them. It would be less frustrating if accomplishing goals were simpler, but experience says that you cannot force the world to your viewpoint. You can only consider what needs to be done and find the means and methods that will get you there. Because people and situations can be complex, the practical and pragmatic solutions have always been difficult to find, but today they are even more elusive in a world of a never-ending tug of war between extreme views promoted endlessly by partisans in news, politics and business.

I suppose that's their job, but they haven't been successful in reviving the economy, creating new jobs and instilling the belief that the future is ours to master. In the meantime, I've got my job, and you have yours, and that's become a real handful for all of us.

Earlier, I said that I have to try to not become the people I dislike. Because if I do, I will fail to leave something behind that is worth remembering.